1. Field of Invention
My invention relates to an improved method of drying and storing watersport garments, a group of garments comprising: wetsuits, drysuits, waders, booties, hoods, and gloves.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Wetsuit manufacturers and suppliers advise buyers not to hang their wet garments by the shoulders. They also caution against using the shoulder method of storage for any substantial period of time. The weight of the suit can permanently damage the often thinner neoprene in the neck and shoulder areas as well as the associated seams. This problem is exacerbated by the extra weight of the water in a wet wetsuit. Similar stress related damage can occur to the latex neck gaskets of drysuits or the suspenders of waders when the entire weight of the garment is transferred to elastic portions of these garments. Currently there are no hangers available to hang watersport garments that use any method other then the shoulder method. U.S. patent application publication US 2006/0226177 A1 to McJunkin (2006) shows how all forms of prior art has addressed this problem by padding or broadening the shoulder support area of the hanger. This method reduces the stress to these areas but can not eliminate it.
Many watersport enthusiasts are reluctant to ignore the manufacturer's recommendations and risk the life of their costly garments by the use of the shoulder method of drying and storing. Faced with no commercially available alternatives, some people resort to draping the suit over whatever rail or bar can be found, often outside, where the suit is subjected to harmful ultraviolet rays. Proper care dictates avoiding the sun's harmful rays. A second method is done by threading their suit thru multiple closed type coat hangers and hanging it wherever the limited reach of the short hook will allow. This method is awkward and the hangers are ill equipped to handle the weight
McJunkin's patent application is one of many examples of prior art that uses the broad shoulder design to solve the stress issues. The result is a device that is bulky and not compactly shaped for portability and travel. Working these types of hangers into the neck and shoulders of some of the zipper less wetsuits on the market requires tugging and stretching the neck area. Prior art has the hook always exposed; this provides the potential to damage the garments should the hook snag the garment. Prior art that provided a way of hanging multiple garments and accessories is even more awkward and bulky as can easily be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,590 Lawler et al (1992). This patent shows a hanger that would be unhandy and inconvenient to travel with.
The open-armed vee shaped hanger has been used often for skirt and trouser hangers; a good example of one is seen in U.S. Pat. No. D171872 Waldron et al (1953). This basic geometry (similar to that of FIG. 1) provides three important features that make it suitable for the field of my invention. The first is ease with which the heavy garment can be positioned on the open horizontal arm. Secondly, the horizontal arm can easily be built to provide an ample supporting area. Lastly, this geometry provides a large vertical reach. The reach is defined by the vertical distance between the point of the hanger's hook and the area that supports the garment. The reach of this is hanger geometry is as much or more than five times that of prior art in the field of watersport garment hangers. This feature opens a multitude of possible places to hang or mount the hanger without additional hardware. The group of such places comprises: overhead support beams and members of porches, garages, lanais; rain gutters and eaves; closet poles, showerheads, and branches; car and truck roof racks; and window casing and doorway trim. Many of these places are beyond the reach of prior art
The patent cited in the above paragraph, U.S. Pat. No. D171872 Waldron et al (1953), lacks any way to fold; consequently traveling with the hook end of such a hanger exposed would be inviting damage to your gear. It would also be as awkward to pack for travel as the shoulder supporting hangers.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,686,620 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,729,371 both to Rose Waldman shows a suit coat and trouser hanger that has a folding open arm to hang the trousers from. This feature is attached to the lower part of a conventional looking coat hanger and cannot be used separately. A vee shaped folding hanger designed for supporting “women's purses, handbags, shopping bags or other articles” is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,714 Schultz (1980). Neither of these patents are in the field of watersport garment hangers.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,219,821 Weal and Weal (2007) shows an example of prior art that uses angled bootie posts to support booties for draining, drying, and storage. Like other inventions they are limited to a single pair of garments (booties in this case) on a single non-folding hanger with limited reach and versatility.